Sunday was a very full day, and a very hot one at 30+ degrees!
We went to the 10 o’clock Morning service at the large French Church. Hundreds of folk were pouring out of the earlier Service when we arrived; then we were packed with about 1,300 men, women and children for our 2 and a quarter hour Service! It was the usual dynamic time of singing by the congregation and several choirs; welcoming visitors, where a microphone is passed round to say who you are and where you’ve come from, and why you are in Bunia. Many were cheered and applauded, especially the many students who were here from N.DR Congo ready to start the new academic year which starts this week.
We quietly melted in the heat, but didn’t fall asleep during the Pastor’s long and animated sermon on the whole of Ephesians chapter 3...!!
We were enthusiastically welcomed and greeted by folk we had met in March.
At 4pm we were invited for a meal at the home of Jonathan and Jeanine. Their 5 yr old daughter was thrilled with the baby doll we’d brought for her; and the 7 and 9 yr old boys whooped with delight at the small motor bike toys! The 5 teenage nephews / orphaned friends were grateful for gifts of biros and exercise books as they started back at school and college the next day.
We will be spending some of the donated money gifts on more pens and books, because many school and college students can’t afford them. What to us costs very little money here, is often unaffordable to them, on top of the struggle to pay school fees for juniors and seniors. And for many families it is impossible to afford schooling at all. They would not comprehend our free education systems!
Dr Philip drove us to the Nursing College this morning......at 7.15am!! Nancy had to rest today because she’s had a mild dose of malaria for the last couple of days. Despite daily Malaria tablets and insect repellent vigilantly applied, it is still possible to get malaria symptoms. This is Nancy’s first attack for over 2 years, and she hopes to feel better very soon.
We had a 5 hour working morning before returning home for lunch! John went back to the College in the afternoon, but I stayed at home and got stuck into cutting out and filing the hundreds of Teaching Flannelgraph characters and scenes. Teaching people how to use them will come later!
John’s Library Programme has been excitedly well received; and there is a new admin. young man who speaks very good English as well as being very computer literate. So John has an excellent assistant [ David] to help set up the complicated Library records system [in French, of course!]. David had already listed 500 of the Medical book titles to give us a good start. It is good to know that once John has set up the whole system, there will be a competent person to use it! My shelf labelling of categories will come later.
The biggest and most welcome surprise was to find that the College now has Internet access!! This is rented from M.A.F. in the same way that Internet comes to Doctor Woods’ house.
John says, no-one will read this if I write too much!! So, sorry if you’ve fallen asleep at your computer!
Greetings to all,
Janice and John.
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